Lessons
by Cattew
Summary: You learn something new everyday. Or something not so new... (aka Carter learns something he should’ve already known). Please read and review.


Author's note: Sorry I haven't written, but school's been the devil. I had to write this little ficlet, however, because it just would not leave me be. So, enjoy!

As always, I don't own Hogan's Heroes or its characters. At all.

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"Where's your precious Colonel Hogan right now, huh boy?"

Carter grimaced as the new POW, Sergeant Colsley, walked up behind him. The man was looking for trouble again; he still wasn't privy to the underground workings of the camp as he had yet to be cleared by London, so when he arrived at camp and saw the Colonel and the others playing with the guards and "cooperating" with the Germans, he naturally got the wrong idea. Carter couldn't wait until this guy was given the full tour; boy oh boy, would he be in for a surprise then!

"He's, uh, in the Kommandant's office… again."

Until then, the Sergeant was in a very antagonistic mood, believing himself to be surrounded by cowards and traitors. Carter was worried about what the man might do to the other prisoners or to the operation, but Kinch told him that the Colonel had it all under control. Of course he did, Carter knew better than to doubt the Colonel. It was only very rarely that he came up with a plan that didn't work out somehow.

"He sure spends a lot of time in there, doesn't he?"

Colsley had meandered his way to stand a few inches in front of Carter, forcing the technical sergeant to have to stare up at the very tall man. Carter didn't like how close the sergeant was, but he knew better than to back away. Newkirk always told him that backing away meant that the other guy won. At what, Carter wasn't exactly sure; but one thing he was sure of was that he didn't want Colsley to win.

"Yeah, I suppose so. He needs to bargain with the Kommandant to get us better food and privileges."

Carter wasn't sure that Colsley would buy that, but it was partly true. Colonel Hogan always told Carter that a convincing lie had to be at least partly founded in the truth. It was true that Colonel Hogan needed to bargain with the Kommandant an awful lot, however that wasn't why he was in the Kommandanteur all of the time. No, the poor Colonel had to be in the Kommandanteur almost 24/7 whenever someone of any importance came calling. Whether to save Klink's hide or their own, Colonel Hogan generally had to step in on the proceedings.

"I'm sure that's it, boy. Your Kraut-loving Colonel couldn't be in there for any other reason."

Carter thought it was unfortunate for another loudmouth General to come blustering into Stalag 13 right when they had to get another prisoner. It wasn't like it was anything new, though. Boy, whoever told him that life as a POW would be boring sure had another thing coming for him. They never had a chance to breathe! Kinch told Carter it was because Stalag 13 is near Hammelburg, which is near the heart of Germany. That meant that it's a very convenient and safe place for any Kraut making his way to Berlin or any other strategic place to take a rest.

"Colonel Hogan doesn't like the Germans any more than you do."

Carter couldn't count the number of times he had seen the Colonel, when he thought no one was looking, give the Germans poisonous looks. It wasn't usually aimed at any of the camp personnel, but at the visiting guests. Carter knew it hit the Colonel hard every time they said or did something aimed at kicking the Allied prisoners while they were down, but Colonel Hogan had to stand there and play the part of the thoroughly cowed prisoner. Sometimes after dinner with the Kraut of the week, Colonel Hogan would go straight to his quarters and pace all evening. Sometimes he had to go outside instead, into a bigger area. He liked to pretend they didn't get to him, but everyone in the barracks knew better.

"Could've fooled me, boy, could've fooled me…"

"My name's Carter."

"What's that, boy?"

"My name is Carter. Sergeant Andrew Carter. Not 'boy."

Colsley gave Carter a dark look and got even closer to him. Carter wasn't scared, in fact, he was a little annoyed. He was tired of never being treated with respect by newbie prisoners looking to take their anger out on someone. He was smarter than the first glance told you, or at least that's what LeBeau always said. And Newkirk. And Kinch. And even Colonel Hogan. They all respected him; they all knew that he had rightfully earned his Sergeant's stripes. The more he recognized that, the more he disliked when the others wouldn't show him respect. Colonel Hogan always told Carter to stand up for himself, that he deserved more than to be put down like that. Carter generally didn't mind that much, but Colsley was simply getting on his nerves.

"What's going on here?"

Carter almost jumped in surprise when he heard his commanding officer's voice right behind him. He turned to see Colonel Hogan glaring at Colsley, who had tensed up when the Colonel intervened.

"Nothing's going on here, just a friendly chat. Right, boy?"

Colsley practically growled the question, looking Hogan in the eye and stepping even closer. Carter was about to say something when he felt Colonel Hogan gently push him out from in between the two men. Carter always thought it was nice when the Colonel did his best to keep his men out of trouble, but this time he was worried. Colsley was a bit of an unknown element right now, and he was scared that he'd actually hurt the Colonel.

"Sergeant, I know you're new here, but in this camp we treat the enemies with contempt, not our fellow prisoners."

When Colonel Hogan used your rank, you knew you were in for it. Carter looked at Colsley to see how he reacted, and he wasn't happy with the answer. Colsley looked really angry, and he was only inching closer to Hogan, with his fists getting tighter each second. Carter had to hand it to Colonel Hogan; he didn't back up or look perturbed, even when the Sergeant was only about an inch away from his face. Carter knew this wouldn't end well. Colsley apparently had decided he'd had enough, and Hogan didn't look willing to back down like he usually would. Carter began to wonder if that had anything to do with what had happened in Klink's office, if anything did happen. But that wasn't important right now.

Carter turned and started towards the barracks to get Kinch or Newkirk; either one of them could help back Hogan if it came to blows. Once he reached the door, he practically slammed it open in his rush. Every second he was in here was another second the Colonel was with Colsley.

"Oi, mate, what's the problem?"

Carter turned to see Newkirk sitting up on his bunk, looking at him apprehensively.

"The Colonel… and one of the new prisoners… I think –"

Newkirk didn't wait for Carter to finish; he jumped down from his bunk and went out the door. Carter hoped that he would arrive and find the two men chatting amicably, that he was wrong about what would happen. But the Colonel was bound to already be in a bad mood from the Kraut General in Klink's office, and Colsley didn't strike Carter as the type to let things roll off of his back. Kinch always told Carter that he was a good judge of character, and that it was a special gift to have. At times like this, Carter had to agree.

After a second's breather, Carter ran back out into the courtyard in a rush. He was surprised to see Newkirk holding back the Colonel (who was yelling something along the lines of "If you ever disrespect one of my men again…") from Colsley, who had a black eye forming. Carter had never seen Colonel Hogan that mad before, so he stood there for a little bit in shock. That was until Colsley charged at the Colonel. As a general rule, Carter didn't really get involved in fights. He disliked nonsensical violence, and did his best to stay away from it. Now, the play fights the Colonel had them do sometimes, those were a different story, and he actually kind of enjoyed those… but, back to the point. Carter didn't really know what came over him, but as soon as he saw Colsley get up with a dangerous fire in his eyes, the young explosives expert ran. Carter ran up behind the angry Sergeant and grabbed him, holding him back. Colsley was strong, but all of the espionage work Carter did kept him in better shape than his size gave away.

All of the noise and action must have caught Shultz's attention, because soon he was breaking the men up. One of the guards grabbed Colsley, and another headed towards the Colonel, who just shrugged off Newkirk and stood there fuming. The guard then made the wise decision to stay away from the irate officer. Carter and Newkirk backed away from the little group and watched as Shultz began to scold Colonel Hogan like one would to a child, leading him and Colsley to the Kommandant's office.

As he watched them walk away, still processing what exactly happened, Carter felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

"Good work, mate." Newkirk said softly, and Carter turned to see a look of pride on the Brit's face.

"For what?" Carter asked, thinking over all that just happened. "I didn't really do anything." Newkirk just rolled his eyes, chuckled a bit, and led the young Sergeant back to the Barracks.

Later that evening, Carter volunteered to bring some of LeBeau's wonderful cooking to the Colonel, who was stuck in the cooler. Carter put the plate of food on a nearby crate and carefully moved the cement brick to get into Colonel Hogan's cell. He peered in to see the Colonel lying on the small cot at the far end of the room.

"Colonel Hogan? I brought you some dinner." Carter called out softly, being careful not to alert any guards. The Colonel shifted and looked at Carter. He sat there for a second before getting up and gratefully taking the plate Carter offered.

"Remind me to thank LeBeau." Colonel Hogan said, taking a bite of the food and smiling. "This war would be a whole heck of a lot blander without his skills." Carter couldn't help but agree with the Colonel, remembering what he had eaten not too long ago. Carter was going to have to get a recipe book from the Frenchman before the war was over. He didn't think he could ever go back to just plain sandwiches and soups after being spoiled so long.

"Carter," Colonel Hogan began hesitantly, breaking into Carter's train of thought, "you did well today. I'm sorry I exploded like that. Klink was being more annoying than ever, brownnosing to that General like he was some kind of king, but that's no excuse. It's my job as a commanding officer to keep the peace and—"

"It's alright Colonel." Carter said, cutting his commanding officer off. He knew it was a bit rude, but sometimes Colonel Hogan could go on forever about the "jobs of a commanding officer."

"Anyway, I didn't do much. All I did was get Newkirk from the barracks."

"Carter, you did much more than that. You recognized when the situation got out of hand and grabbed someone you knew you could trust. You also held back Colsley from attacking me, and that's the first time I've seen you do that. You really stood up today, so stop underestimating yourself. I know the others and I can sometimes tease you quite a bit, but you are one of the best soldiers I know. If you learn nothing else from today, I want you to remember that." Colonel Hogan said, and standing up, saluted the young Sergeant.

"Good work today, soldier."


End file.
